Sylvia Fine (Music Production)

Songwriter whose witty, complex lyrics and melodic tunes were often written as special material to showcase the unique talents of her husband, Danny Kaye. (Kaye once admitted, "I am a wife-made man".)

Fine wrote the music and/or lyrics for such Kaye vehicles as "Up in Arms" (1944), "Wonder Man" (1945), "The Kid From Brooklyn" (1946) "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1947), "The Inspector General" (1949) and "The Court Jester" (1956), and once estimated that she had created over 100 songs for him during their 40-year collaboration. Her songs ranged from fast-paced, tongue-twisting patter numbers such as "Anatole of Paris" and "Melody in 4-F", to the tender "Lullaby in Ragtime" from "The Five Pennies" (1959), to love songs such as "All About You" from "Knock on Wood" (1954). Fine received Oscar nominations for her songs for "The Moon is Blue" (1953) and "The Five Pennies" and also won an Emmy for the 1975 TV production "Danny Kaye: Look in at the Met".